joyfulbaker's blog

This wonderful bread, pain au levain with mixed sourdough starters, from Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread, brought me a first prize at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.  This was the first time I ever entered anything in the fair.  I love this bread, and it has become a regular around our house.  It can't be beat for flavor.  My only tweak is to add a mix of seeds on the dough exterior before baking and to borrow 1 oz from the bread flour and give it to the whole wheat flour.

Finally, success.  I watched Mark Strausman on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqJLExaX0yc and saw how he shapes the fully--and I mean fully to the point where the dough is blistering and nearly collapsing (thanks to Stan for that point)--proofed rolls and then baked them convection (450, 25 degress lower than conventional oven temp, preheated oven), two baking sheets (no stone), reversing the sheets midway.

Just heard this wonderful news.   The IACP award, which is discretionary, is given to "a book that exemplifies Jane Grigson’s extraordinary ability to put food in a wider cultural context, using diligent but not pedantic scholarship. Jane Grigson, a cookbook author from the United Kingdom, was a prose stylist of high degree. The book should exhibit distinguished scholarship in the quality of its research and presentation."

 Hearty congratulations to you, Stan and Norm, for this well-deserved honor!   

Joy

OK, I've joined the club--that is the searchers for new mixers.  My 10-year-old K/A is still OK but starting to make squeaky noises, mostly at the join plate next to the body where the back of the bowl snaps down.  I've had it serviced twice in the past couple of years and am now observing the rules (y'know--the manual) and staying in second gear (er-speed).  But now I want something with more oomph and larger capacity; 7 qt.